Martina Hingis Quotes

Young black men in America have an identity ascribed to them that is a direct legacy of slavery.

It’s no disgrace to be black, but it’s often very inconvenient.

We recriminalized black life. Incarceration rates since the 1908s have gone through the roof, overwhelmingly black males, women and Hispanics to some extent. Essentially re-doing what happened under Reconstruction. That's the history of African Americans - so how can any one say there's no problem. Sure, racism is serious, but it's worse than that.

I am not an American; I am one of twenty-two million black people who are victims of Americanism.

People of color, particularly African Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don't want to be perceived as having yet another deficit.

The system functioned relatively automatically, and the prevailing system of racial meanings, identities, and ideologies already seemed natural. Ninety percent of those admitted to prison for drug offenses in many states were Black or Latino, yet the mass incarceration of communities of color was explained in race-neutral terms, an adaptation to the needs and demands of the current political climate.

The international community cannot accept that whole communities are marginalized because of the color of their skin. People of African descent are among those most affected by racism. Too often, they face denial of basic rights such as access to quality health services and education. Such fundamental wrongs have a long and terrible history.

I never have a problem with being black. I have a problem with the easy association of what that means to some people.

If you are the normal white American, truth is you don't understand being black in America, and you instinctively underestimate the level of discrimination and the level of additional risk.

When you're white, the sky's the limit. When you're black, the limit's the sky.

Racism is so extreme and so pervasive in our American society that no black individual lives in an atmosphere of freedom.

They don't let many black people in the governor's mansion in Alabama, unless they're cleaning.

It's almost impossible to separate the actions, or it's also, it's almost impossible to separate the oppression and exploitation, criminal oppression and criminal exploitation of the American negro from the color of the skin of the person who is the oppressor or the exploiter.

I know I am judged unfairly by my physical characteristics and ostracized because of that so I say, "Yes, I'm a black man."

If you're black, you can't just be ordinary. All successful black people are extraordinary.

A lot of racism going on in the world right now. Who's more racist? Black people or white people? Black people. You know why? 'Cuz we hate black people too! Everything white people don't like about black people, black people really don't like about black people.

He wants to do you in cause the color of your skin.

If you took away the color of Barack Obama's skin, nobody right now would be paying him any attention.

For their abuse of [the Black African] race, the whites will be cursed, unless they repent.

The thing is that it's always a constant reminder of how violent this country has been, always has been, you know. I'm still frustrated with these conversations: [Barack] Obama is black so that means this, that things are better, or it means that you voted for him because he's black.

I've witnessed racism all my life. And of course there's racism and discrimination in Hollywood. You go for a part and they say, 'Oh, we really liked her, she's amazing, but we wanted to go with something more traditional'. As if I'm not a traditional American!

But the color of a Negro's skin makes him easily recognizable, makes him suspect, converts him into a defenseless target

What frustrates me is to see African-Americans behave as though what European-Americans say is worthwhile. It simply isn't. It's just some silly people who can make laws and have the power to enforce them. I'm often amazed at the conversations black people have about themselves. They ought to be having these conversations about white people. It's white people who are flawed and at fault.

Black people in America have to, for their own protection, develop a defense mechanism, and I just grew terribly tired of it.